Monterosso from the trail to Vernazza

Sea bass, with the best crispy potatoes and divine olive oil

Sharing the round table at Miky’s.

During our women’s touring adventure, we enjoy Italy’s never-ending gifts of food from the land and sea. Sharing meals, experiencing, the subtle flavors and varieties of Italian food are all important parts of living la dolce vita, the sweet life.

Vegetarian platter

When I plan the Italy Retreats for women, Italian food is always on my mind. In Liguria, sea bass and bream are cooked in salt wrappings then baked in a wood burning oven, or cooked with olives, potatoes, a few pine nuts, and local olive oil. The memory of some of the delicious Italian food carries me through the cold Iowa winters.Today’s post is from a guest–one of the women who attended my Italy Retreat in Italy:

Dinner at Ristorante Miky in Monterosso al Mare was a quintessential foodie experience with an emphasis on the fruits of the sea; frutti di mare. It felt that I was consuming the essence of this coastal Italian culture: the legacy of generations of fisherman going to the sea for food and then honoring and cultivating the whole range of her flavors.

Another revelation was the palate of olive oils, each one intense and deeply redolent of sun and earth..challenging us to appreciate the subtle character brought about by unique combinations of soil and climate. Each one was an elixer, which paired with whomever resonated with it’s singular essence.

Food here becomes a feast, a celebration of life. The ordinary is experienced as extraordinary: as a revelation, a healing, a dance. This is one of Italy’s gifts, inviting us to remember and reclaim the power of simple food to nourish not only body but spirit as well.

frutti di mare, fruit of the sea

Sampler of desserts including tiramisu

Sciacchetra’, the local wine of the Cinque Terre

Learn more about traveling to Italy on Lenora’s Italy Retreats For Women
Find out more about Lenora’s Sweet Life Workshops and Sweet Life Happiness Coaching.

You are welcome to reprint, copy, or distribute Lenora Boyle’s article, provided author credit is included.